Bengals want more consistency on offense

May 09, 2013|Reuters

The Sports Xchange

NFL Team Report - Cincinnati Bengals - INSIDE SLANT

With the Bengals drafting seven of their 10 players on offense, including the change-of-pace running back they have been searching for and another big target in the red zone, that should help give them more consistency.

What it also does is put even more pressure on quarterback Andy Dalton to have a breakout year.

"Yeah, well there shouldn't be any excuses. The players we already have and adding these guys is just going to make the offense better," Dalton said. "So I expect us to take the next step, I expect us to improve from where we were last year. Time will tell, but we've got the right attitude going in and the way we've been working, I don't expect any less."

The Bengals finished 22nd in offense last year and have been 20th or lower five straight years. There were six games where they scored over 24 points but struggled in the red zone, scoring touchdowns just seven times on 17 trips over the final five games. Dalton also took nearly twice as many sacks and the running game didn't have any consistency until the second half of the season.

The addition of tight end Tyler Eifert in the first round should help the red-zone numbers because it gives Dalton another big receiver, along with Jermaine Gresham and Mohamed Sanu. It also should take the pressure off A.J. Green, who has had only one touchdown in December the past two seasons.

It also gives the Bengals a two-tight end set that would rival New England for one of the better ones in the conference. Gresham will remain the starter, but the fact that Eifert can line up in different spots will pose plenty of matchup problems.

"If we get to throwing the ball really well and we get two-tight end sets, then they have to play nickel and if they play nickel, we can run the ball. They take out a linebacker and put in another corner type. So that gives you a chance to do different things based on the personnel they put on the field. I think that's why we went after him so early," Dalton said.

Bernard's addition helps because when they signed BenJarvus Green-Ellis last year it wasn't with the intention of him getting 73 percent of the carries. Besides his speed to the outside, Bernard becomes the best player out of the backfield to catch the ball.

Even with the additions, the offense is still young, which means there are going to continue to be a certain amount of growing pains. The good news though is that all of the starters are back, Sanu and Marvin Jones are entering just their second season while Bernard and Eifert will be rookies.

Besides Bernard and Eifert, sixth-round picks Cobi Hamilton and Rex Burkhead could have a chance to contribute. Hamilton led the SEC in receptions at Arkansas last year and can thrive as both an inside and outside receiver. Burkhead will fill the role that Brian Leonard has for the past four seasons as a back who can serve a third-down role as a blocker and receiver.

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NFL Team Report - Cincinnati Bengals - NOTES, QUOTES

--Andre Smith's three-year, $18 million deal ended up benefiting both the team and player. For Smith, there are no weight clauses, which were in the rookie contract, and the average of $6 million per year puts him in the middle as far as deals signed so far.

The average per year is also roughly the same that veteran left tackle Andrew Whitworth makes. Smith was hoping that the deal would get done sooner, but was happy that it was completed with most of offseason workouts still remaining.

Said Smith of re-signing: "I felt like it was time. Why continue to play around? Why wait? I just felt like it was time. Why procrastinate? So that was pretty much it. The offer changed, but I felt like it was time."

--In reviewing the draft, head coach Marvin Lewis said this was the third year that he has taken a more active role in getting an up-close look at scouting prospects.

Lewis started going out on the road again in 2011 during the lockout when the team was looking for a successor to Carson Palmer. He did a West Coast swing last year and during this draft process he visited the schools where the top running back prospects worked out.

Among the schools that Lewis visited this past year were North Carolina, which helped in the drafting of Bernard, and South Carolina to check out Marcus Lattimore, who was drafted by the 49ers.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We've got a lot of different guys that can make big plays. Just the time we've been out here throwing, just doing the different stuff, you can see that guys have been working really hard and really trying to get better." - QB Andy Dalton.